Apparatus for plowing loose particulate material

ABSTRACT

Apparatus is provided for guiding a plow device along a long wall face armored conveyor on the face side thereof. The plow device is adapted to be hauled reciprocally by a chain along the length of the conveyor or a portion thereof. The apparatus includes an L-shaped elongate member which has an upright limb and a lower limb. The upright limb is securable to a side of the conveyor and the lower limb constitutes the base of the apparatus. The upright limb has secured along its upper edge a tube for guiding the device and a substantially continuous horizontal chain guide member extending therefrom to define upper and lower chain races. A cover plate is provided and is releasably secured to the tube in sealing relationship therewith to prevent contamination of the races by loose material. The cover plate abuts the free end of the chain guide member but is spaced from the lower limb of the elongate member such that in use a part of the plow device can extend through the space to engage a chain in the lower race to be driven thereby.

United States Patent 51 Nov. 21, 1972 Trolley [54] APPARATUS FOR PLOWING LOOSE PARTICULATE MATERIAL [72] Inventor: John Henry Trolley, Sandbach, En-

gland [73] Assignee: Coal Industry (Patents) Limited,

London, England [22] Filed: Jan. 18, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 107,251

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 20, 1970 Great Britain ..2,7l4/70 [52] U.S. Cl ..299/34 [51] Int. Cl ..E21c 27/32 [58] Field of Search ..299l34, 43; 198/10, 204

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,456,983 7/1969 Rassmann ..299/34 Primary Examiner-Ernest R. Purser Attorney-Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher [5 7 ABSTRACT Apparatus is provided for guiding a plow device along a long wall face armored conveyor on the face side thereof. The plow device is adapted to be hauled reciprocally by a chain along the length of the conveyor or a portion thereof. The apparatus includes an L-shaped elongate member which has an upright limb and a lower limb. The upright limb is securable to a side of the conveyor and the lower limb constitutes the base of the apparatus. The upright limb has secured along its upper edge a tube for guiding the device and a substantially continuous horizontal chain guide member extending therefrom to define upper and lower chain races. A cover plate is provided and is releasably secured to the tube in sealing relationship therewith to prevent contamination of the races by loose material. The cover plate abuts the free end of the chain guide member but is spaced from the lower limb of the elongate member such that in use a part of the plow device can extend through the space to engage a chain in the lower race to be driven thereby.

l0 Claims, 9 Draw ing Figures PHENTEU W21 I973 3.703.31 5

' sum 3 OF 3 APPARATUS FOR PLOWING LOOSE PARTICULATE MATERIAL This invention relates to apparatus for plowing loose particulate material such as broken coal onto a longwall face armored conveyor.

One known form of such apparatus comprises a chain guide which has two chain runs and which is attached to the side wall of a conveyor section and a cover plate secured to, and over, the chain guide. -In operation a series of the apparatus extend along the conveyor and a plow device is connected to one of the runs of the chain within the guide and is hauled along the face by the side of the conveyor so that when the conveyor is advanced towards the face broken coal is plowed over the cover plates and onto the conveyor. Unfortunately, such known apparatus has the disadvantage that the device is not efficiently guided along the face and as a result high stresses are induced into the apparatus and into the chain. These high stresses result in loss of coal production because of chain breakage and damage to the apparatus. Also, because of the high stresses a powerful haulage motor is required to drive the chain and a large size of chain is required. Another disadvantage of such known apparatus is that the two runs of the chain are not kept separate which leads to one run blocking and fastening the other run and to rapid chain wear.

An object of the present invention is to provide apparatus which efficiently guides the plow device and which keeps the two runs of the chain separate and thereby causes lower stresses to be induced and the above mentioned disadvantages to be reduced.

According to the present invention apparatus for guiding a plow device adapted to be hauled by a chain so as to plow loose material onto a longwall face armored conveyor, comprises a substantially L-shaped elongate member the upright limb of which is securable to a side wall of a conveyor section and the lower limb of which forms the base of the apparatus, a tubular member extending adjacently longitudinally of the upright limb so as to provide a support-guideway along which the device can slide, a chain-guide member extending from the upright limb so as to form separate upper and lower chain runs extending the length of the apparatus, and a cover plate releasably secured to the tubular member and arranged to abut the free end of the chain-guide member but separated by a space from the lower limb, so that in operation a part of the device can project through the space to engage a chain in the lower chain run.

Preferably, the chain-guide member is adapted to contact each upright link in the upper run.

The present invention also provides such apparatus in combination with a plow device adapted to be hauled by a chain so as to plough loose particulate material onto a longwall face armored conveyor.

By way of example only, three embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I shows an end view of one embodiment of the apparatus and plow device in an operational position;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of FIG. 1 as seen from the coal face;

FIG. 3 shows a plan of the apparatus and plow device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the plow device;

FIG. 5 shows an end view of the plow device;

FIG. 6 shows an end view of a second embodiment of the apparatus;

FIG. 7 shows a side view of the apparatus in FIG. 6 with a part removed;

FIG. 8 shows an end view of a third embodiment of the apparatus; and

FIG. 9 shows a side viewof the apparatus in FIG. 8 with a part removed.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the apparatus 2 is shown adjacent to the floor of a coal face 4 and contacting the side wall of a longwall face armored conveyor section 6. r

The apparatus 2 comprises a substantially L'-shaped elongated member 8 having a length equal to that of a conveyor section and the upright sigma-shaped limb 10 of which is releasably secured to the side wall of the conveyor section 6 by bolts (not shown). The lower limb 12 of the member 8 has a toe plate 14 secured to its free end. A tubular member in the form of tube 16 is secured along the upper edge of the limb 10 and one edge of a transversely extending plate 18 is secured mid-way up the limb 10.

A cover plate 20 has lugs 22 which are accommodated in slots 24 in the side of the tube 16 and is retained in a position abutting the tube 16 and the plate 18 and spaced from the limb 12 by bolts 26 which are located in holes (not shown) provided in a further plate 28 secured onto the free end of the plate 18. As the cover plate 20 abuts the tube 16 which is secured to the upper edge of the limb 10 no gap is left in the upper part of the apparatus 2 so that no coal can enter the apparatus and jam the chain.

A plow device 30 which is slidably supported on the tube 16 comprises a curved plate 32 extending around approximately the upper half of the tube 16 and down by the side of the cover plate 20 as shown in FIG. 1. The plow device 30 has two inclined plates 34 and 36 which in operation plow broken coal over the cover plate 20 onto the conveyor 6.

The plow device 30 also comprises a plate 38 secured by bolts 40 to a plate 42 which in turn is secured to the curved plate 32 and the lower ends of the plates 34 and 36. The plate 38 extends through the space formed below the cover plate 20 to engage retainably the lower run 44 of an endless haulage chain which is driven in well known manner by a motor (not shown) positioned at the end of the face. The upper run 46 of the chain is kept completely separate from the run 44 by the plate 18 which contacts each upright link in the upper run 46.

It can be seen from FIG. 1 that the apparatus 2 and the plow device 30 are remote from the upper flange 47 of the conveyor section 6 and therefore do not interfere with any mining machine travelling along the flange 47.

It can also be seen from FIG. 1 that the plow device 30 is supported solely by the tube 16 and is spaced from the remainder of the apparatus. This ensures that in operation the device 30 is efficiently guided by the apparatus 2. As the plate 32 extends around the tube 16 and the plate 39 is retained by the lower run of the chain, the plow device 30 is held in the guided position.

It can be further seen in FIG. 1 that the lower limb 12 projects towards the coal face 4 beyond the plow device 30 so that when the conveyor is advanced towards the face 4 the plow device 30 cannot become trapped between the apparatus 2 and the coal face 4.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show how the plow device 30 engages the lower run 44 of the chain. Four abutments 50 which are shaped to match the lower parts of the upright links of the chain are secured to the free end of the plate 38. The horizontal links of the chain are placed over the abutrnents 50 which have spigots 52 upon which abutment caps 54 can be mounted (in FIG. 4 only two of the caps are shown). The caps 54 which are secured in position by split pins 56 passing through bores 58, are shaped to match the upper parts of the upright links of the chain and to retain the'horizontal links in position over the abutments 50.

In operation of the invention a set of apparatus 2 is secured to each conveyor section 6 so that a continous guide for the plow device 30 is provided along all the length of the face.

As the mining machine which travels along the face supported on the flange 47 of the conveyor section 6, it cuts along the coal face 4 in well known manner, and the sections 6 of the conveyor behind the machine have to be advanced in a snake-like manner by hydraulic rams (not shown) towards the freshly formed face. During advance the plow device 30 is repeatedly traversed backwards and forwards along the sections 6 currently being advanced so that any coal lying in the path of the conveyor is plowed over the cover plates 20 by the inclined plates 34 and 36 of the plow device 30 onto the conveyor. Traversing of the plow device 30 along the sections 6 is continued until the conveyor is fully advanced, usually when the limb l2 abuts the freshly formed coal face.

The plow device 30 is then moved further along the face to the next sections of the conveyor to be advanced and the procedure repeated.

The procedure is repeated until all the conveyor sections 6 are fully advanced.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the apparatus 2 in which the tubular member is formed by a curved plate 60 which extends down by the side of, and is secured to, the straight limb 10. The previously mentioned cut-outs in the plate 18 can be seen at 62 in FIG. 7 which shows the apparatus 2 with the cover plate 20 removed.

It can be seen in FIG. 7 that each end of the plate 18 is arranged so as to overlap the end of the plate: 18 of an adjacent set of apparatus thus ensuring that the runs 44, 46 of the chain are kept separated during the advance of the conveyor.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a third embodiment of the apparatus 2 in which the tubular member is formed by a curved plate 70 which extends down by the side of, and is secured to the straight limb l0 and which further extends to form the chain separator replacing the separate plate 18. The plate 28 in the previous embodiments is discarded and the bolts 26 pass through the cut-outs 62 to be located in holes in the side wall of the conveyor section. The cover plate 20 in the regions adjacent to the bolt locations is reinforced by plates 71 and the bolt heads are countersunk.

The limb 10 is reinforced by a plate 72 secured below the curved plate 70 and the toe plate 14 has been discarded.

In another similar embodiment the plate 72 is not required to reinforce the limb 10.

I claim:

1. In a mineral mining assembly including a long wall face armored conveyor having at least one side wall, a plow device, a chain, chain engagement means on the plow device, the chain being adapted to haus the device longitudinally of the conveyor whereby loose material is plowed onto the said conveyor by the device, a plow device guiding apparatus including a substantially L- shaped elongate member having an upright limb and a lower limb, the upright limb being securable to the side wall of the conveyor and the lower limb forming the base of the apparatus and extending from the upright limb beyond the plow device, a tubular member extending adjacently longitudinally of the upright limb thereby providing a support guidewa-yfor said device, a continuous chain guide member connected to the upright limb and extending therefrom, separate upper and lower chain races defined by said chain guide member, and a cover plate releasably secured to the tubular member, the cover plate abutting the free end of the chain guide member and'terminatin'g above said lower limb, whereby the chain engagement means of the plow device projects between the plate and the lower limb and engages the chain in the lower chain race.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the chain guide member is situated on the upright limb of the substantially L-shaped elongate member and contacts each upright link in the chain located in the upper chain race.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the chain guide member extends substantially horizontally from the upright limb whereby the chain runs extending through the races are arranged in substantially the same vertical plane.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upright limb of the substantially L-shaped elongate member is sigma-shaped and has an upper flange to which is secured the tubular member, and the lower limb extends substantially horizontally from the upright limb.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a part secured to the substantially L-shaped elongate member and having an upper'portion, the tubular member being formed integrally with said part along the said upper portion, and the chain guide member being secured to the said part and extending substantially horizontally therefrom.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a part secured to the upright limb of the substantially L- shaped elongate member, the part having an upper portion and a relatively lower portion, the tubular member being formed along said upper portion and the guide member being formed along said relatively lower portion.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including locating recess means on the tubular member, the locating recess means being arranged in spaced relationship longitudinally of the member, and lugs on the cover plate, and lugs being correspondingly spaced and adapted to be accommodated in said locating recess means whereby the plate is positively located with respect to the tubular member, the plate sealably abutting the member whereby the ingress of material into the chain races is prevented.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the chain guide member is provided with an abutment.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 comprising fixing means for fixing the cover plate to the abutment.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a support plate, the plate being adapted to support the plough device. 5 

1. In a mineral mining assembly including a long wall face armored conveyor having at least one side wall, a plow device, a chain, chain engagement means on the plow device, the chain being adapted to haus the device longitudinally of the conveyor whereby loose material is plowed onto the said conveyor by the device, a plow device guiding apparatus including a substantially L-shaped elongate member having an upright limb and a lower limb, the upright limb being securable to the side wall of the conveyor and the lower limb forming the base of the apparatus and extending from the upright limb beyond the plow device, a tubular member extending adjacently longitudinally of the upright limb thereby providing a support guideway for said device, a continuous chain guide member conneCted to the upright limb and extending therefrom, separate upper and lower chain races defined by said chain guide member, and a cover plate releasably secured to the tubular member, the cover plate abutting the free end of the chain guide member and terminating above said lower limb, whereby the chain engagement means of the plow device projects between the plate and the lower limb and engages the chain in the lower chain race.
 1. In a mineral mining assembly including a long wall face armored conveyor having at least one side wall, a plow device, a chain, chain engagement means on the plow device, the chain being adapted to haus the device longitudinally of the conveyor whereby loose material is plowed onto the said conveyor by the device, a plow device guiding apparatus including a substantially L-shaped elongate member having an upright limb and a lower limb, the upright limb being securable to the side wall of the conveyor and the lower limb forming the base of the apparatus and extending from the upright limb beyond the plow device, a tubular member extending adjacently longitudinally of the upright limb thereby providing a support guideway for said device, a continuous chain guide member conneCted to the upright limb and extending therefrom, separate upper and lower chain races defined by said chain guide member, and a cover plate releasably secured to the tubular member, the cover plate abutting the free end of the chain guide member and terminating above said lower limb, whereby the chain engagement means of the plow device projects between the plate and the lower limb and engages the chain in the lower chain race.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the chain guide member is situated on the upright limb of the substantially L-shaped elongate member and contacts each upright link in the chain located in the upper chain race.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the chain guide member extends substantially horizontally from the upright limb whereby the chain runs extending through the races are arranged in substantially the same vertical plane.
 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upright limb of the substantially L-shaped elongate member is sigma-shaped and has an upper flange to which is secured the tubular member, and the lower limb extends substantially horizontally from the upright limb.
 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a part secured to the substantially L-shaped elongate member and having an upper portion, the tubular member being formed integrally with said part along the said upper portion, and the chain guide member being secured to the said part and extending substantially horizontally therefrom.
 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a part secured to the upright limb of the substantially L-shaped elongate member, the part having an upper portion and a relatively lower portion, the tubular member being formed along said upper portion and the guide member being formed along said relatively lower portion.
 7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including locating recess means on the tubular member, the locating recess means being arranged in spaced relationship longitudinally of the member, and lugs on the cover plate, and lugs being correspondingly spaced and adapted to be accommodated in said locating recess means whereby the plate is positively located with respect to the tubular member, the plate sealably abutting the member whereby the ingress of material into the chain races is prevented.
 8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the chain guide member is provided with an abutment.
 9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 comprising fixing means for fixing the cover plate to the abutment. 